I cannot state how excited I am for this, especially given the current state of the UFC HW division (Carwin, Cain out with injury, Nelson in contract dispute, Lesnar is an unknown). Not sure how the brackets will breakdown after the quarters, but I really, really hope that Werdum can end the Overeem hype-train. Or, I'd love to see Sergei return to form and beat Overeem (again).

The only hurdle is the Barnett licensing, but his nationwide suspension ended last July. From what I've read, the second quarter-final event will not be in either Vegas or in California.

The favorites are clear: Fedor and Overeem. The two darkhorses are Barnett and Kharitonov. They both have great skill, but haven't been consistently active in awhile (FYI, Kharitonov is the last person the beat Overeem in MMA).

I dont think anyone can stop the Reem I've been trying to call him all hype but everytime I watch him fight he just abuses his opponent. I really think Fedors management has been ducking him and why would he even be in the tournament he is the SF heavyweight champ shouldn't the tourny be for the number 1 contender I just feel that all the SF heavyweights are intimidated by Overeem and they really should be the guy gets better and better every fight.

His best wins at HW are Rogers, Buentello, and Kharitonov. Anytime he has faced truly top competition, he's lost and that includes his run at LHW. He couldn't take a punch at 205; how the hell is that going to change at HW?

By the same token, who has Fedor beat recently? Not dismissig his pride days, but the recent Fedor years are far from inspiring. Losing to Werdum does not illicit confidence either.

With Fedor, you at least know how he responds to top competition. Until the submission against Werdum, there was only 1 fight that he did not win convincingly and that was against Arona in RINGS with a set of funky rules. I also wouldn't exactly say getting caught in an early sub against a multiple ADCC champ losing to a can. With Fedor, it's not about hype or potential; it's about past performances and being a proven fighter at HW. Overeem, however, has neither part. Yes, he has a great skill set along with a massive frame (BTW, why are people on his sack, but call Lesnar a chump?), but he has yet to show that he can translate this into a HW run. I still question his heart after seeing him practically give up against Shogun, Arona, Rog Nog, Chuck, etc. and highly doubt that his cardio has improved with an extra 35+ lbs of LBM on his frame.

I never said Werdum was a can, just not an impressive heavyweight. He is another one with a questionable work ethic. I agree about his past, but I don't think he is anywhere near where he was. His most recent fights are what I use as my example.

I think a Reem/Fedor fight will tell a lot. I just hope we get to see it.

I never said Werdum was a can, just not an impressive heavyweight. He is another one with a questionable work ethic. I agree about his past, but I don't think he is anywhere near where he was. His most recent fights are what I use as my example.

I think a Reem/Fedor fight will tell a lot. I just hope we get to see it.

Never said you said Werdum was a can, but he's been a consensus top-10 fighter for close to 5 years now. Fedor got caught; it happens to everyone in MMA. While I do agree with you that it's hard to say where Fedor is at this stage in his career, the slower frequency of fights may have actually helped. People forget how many injuries the guy has had over the years, especially to his hands. Plus, he hasn't really been through many "wars" in his career; the only fighters to ever really cause some damage were a prime CC and Fujita's hail mary right hand.

He couldn't take a punch at 205; how the hell is that going to change at HW?

You know, by the end he was cutting nearly 30 lbs to make 205 - that affects both cardio and chin. I don't think his chin is worse than average, although admittedly the question of cardio is out there.

For Overeem to make 205 lbs he was not able to lift weights and im sure everyone on this sight would agree with me that weight training is pretty important in every sport. Now the guy is just an animal he is a giant and he is fast and precise I think all the hype he gets is desevered. If you dont think weights are important just watch the Bj Penn vs Edgar 2 fight and tell me who the stronger man was.

I'm not as sold on the importance of weight training.. but either Overeem is on year-round or both him and his brother have freaky genetics. His face and jaw looks three times than when he was at 205 which obviously means he was very drawn out at that weight. Not to mention natural progression as you age could possibly further attribute to his size.

I agree it's hard to say about Fedor's status in his career, the only person I really see giving him trouble is Overeem. Werdum is obviously better on the ground than Overeem, but he gettng Overeem to the ground is an entirely different issue. And submitting him would be a task for anyone, due to his training avoiding submissions and especially his freaky strength. He threw Duffee and Rogers (both huge) around like ragdolls.

As far as Arlovski goes, he belongs in this group much more than Rogers does. Despite his recent lack of success, the guy still has great hands and who knows how he'll come in if he gets some confidnce back.

if you ain't juicin', don't know why these people have such problems with rigorous testing.. outside of blood tests near, or the day of the fight like Pacquiao was complaining about. I don't foresee any issues with this though for the tourney, too much hype and money to be made for testing issues to stall/cancel it.

I actually don't like a 1-night format. You end up getting a bad product most of the time due to accumulated damage. Look at all of the Pride GP finals, especially some of the later ones. For example, the last WW GP had a final match of Denis Kang with a torn bicep against Kazuo Misaki who was beaten by Paulo Filho the same night, but was unable to continue due to injury. Basically, a dude loses in the semis and then, by default, gets a spot in the finals.

I actually don't like a 1-night format. You end up getting a bad product most of the time due to accumulated damage. Look at all of the Pride GP finals, especially some of the later ones. For example, the last WW GP had a final match of Denis Kang with a torn bicep against Kazuo Misaki who was beaten by Paulo Filho the same night, but was unable to continue due to injury. Basically, a dude loses in the semis and then, by default, gets a spot in the finals.

very true, but having the one night format just makes me feel like it's the karate kid and yelling "put him in a bodybag johnny" is acceptable.. adds to the mystique of the sport.... no but really the product isn't necessarily as quality due to injury, fatigue, etc. but once in a while it's cool to see who can withstand adversity, kind of a testament to a guy's luck/will

Overeem is used to the tourny format so I would say he has the upper hand, but in the fight game anything can happen. I am curious to see how fedor does and if he stays in the tournament. Best of luck to all and should be a great show either way .